Design Reveal - Frankly My Dear

Happy clients make a happy designer. And this design was so much fun to do. Once M and I got started talking about the direction of her blog during our text session, I immediately knew I wanted to work with her. Her inspiration for the design... wait for it... Gone With The Wind!! YES! We totally bonded over having it as a fav movie. Vintage and classy and simple. Yes. Yes. Yes. 

I had to finish up Mar's design before I could start working on it fully, but I just HAD to play with fonts and colors for M just a little to make sure we were on the same page for the feel of the design.

That dress. I so wanted my mom to make me a dress like that when I was little. It never happened, but I still dream about it. Back to the design. I pulled the colors from the dress and some gold foil texture. M said she wanted to incorporate wind somehow and I think I captured it elegantly without making it appear kitschy, with the swirly elements in the Header. Then I accented the script font with a clean sans serif and a cute handwritten font. 

M wanted the Deluxe Package, so then I got to work on her pages and extra customization for the sidebar elements. I loved the gold foil paired with the kelley green, so we ran with that for the feature images. Then we worked on the content and layouts. For the sidebar I coded the email subscription and search bar to match the color scheme, and customized the popular post section to flow with the design better with the round images rather than square. 

Go check out the live design at Frankly, My Dear. Keep up to date by following FMD on Bloglovin', and you can get other awesome updates on M's social media accounts.

Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest

What do you think? Did I capture the film in the design?

Knock on Wood Designs now has pre-made templates! Go check those out here.

To get your own custom Blogger design visit the Knock on Wood Designs website.

Design Reveal - to & fro

I totally dropped the ball here in this space last week, but I think my excuse it pretty good. I was boobs deeps in another blog design, and it turned out so lovely. I hope you'll forgive me.

Not long after I started work on the design for Cattails, Rabbit Trails, & Thistlefish, I received another inquiry. I was elated. My books are filling up and it's great. Keep them coming! Anyway, Mar from To & Fro was in need of something fresh and new, as well as a little rescue from broken links and disappearing images. I'm still so honored when a blogger chooses me from the vast pool of talented designers.

Earthy tones of greens and blues paired with soft water color strokes. I've been dying to do a watercolor design and was super excited when that's exactly what Mar was looking for. At first I was a little worried the colors were too bright, but then I thought that nature gives us bright colors as well a muted ones, and everything in between. I also love that she chose a font that from the same font designer of the font that I choose for my own blog.

I always learn something new with each design I complete. We should all strive to learn something new every day, and with a little research, trial and error, hair pulling, and eurekas I was able to not only meet the expectations of my client, but to meet my own as well. I'm much harder to please than most people; I am my own worst critic.

You can see the live design HERE. You can keep up with Mar on Instagram and Twitter, and never miss a blog post by following To & Fro on Bloglovin'. To find out how you can get your own custom design, or to see some pre-made templates visit Knock on Wood Designs.

I think the new look suits her well. What do you think?

Design Reveal: The [NEW] Rambling Llama

I'm so excited to present to you the brand new design I created and installed for Melissa last week! Designing for her is so fun, mainly because I know her so well, but I love when I'm able to transfer a blogger's vision onto the computer screen. She's also been a guinea pig for when I learn new things. So huge props to her for putting up with me always wanting to tweak things. 

Melissa has had some huge life changes lately and she's making her way back into the blogging world slowly but surely. And it occurred to me that she might want a fresh look for her blog that matches the fresh start she's making for herself in her personal life. I pitched the idea to her and she was totally on board. 

Via email over the course of a week, I think, we narrowed down fonts and colors. I created. I coded. I designed. Then I re-created, re-coded, and re-arranged things until she was happy with the design (and until I was satisfied with the functionality). A happy client makes a happy designer. She later told me she liked that it was a lot more "grown up" feeling than her past designs which had a young and fun feel to them.

So, without further adieux, I give you The [NEW] Rambling Llama!

What do you think? Does it suit her?

To see the full design visit The Rambling Llama. To find out how to get your own custom blog design, visit Knock on Wood Designs.

Grateful Heart

Sometimes I forget that in all the business of everyday life, God is there looking out for me. The past couple weeks have really proved that. So many wonderful things have happened, some as a response to something negative.

Lets start at the beginning, with the interesting conversation I had with my mom two weeks ago. Something she said really upset me. While she said she didn't have any underlying motives, it still felt like she did. When I recounted that conversation to Hubs, he felt the same way I did about what she said. I tried to let it go, but the seed Mom planted in our heads kept growing and eventually sprouted into a pretty intense argument between Hubs and I. We got a lot of things out on the table, and you know what? It has made our relationship stronger.

I did ask my mom to explain exactly what she was trying to say, and it still came across a little offensive, but knowing her intent and her feelings behind it helped a lot. She apologized and everything is a-ok now. And funny enough, a job kinda fell into my lap as a result as well.

During all of this several great opportunities were offered to me in regards to this little space of mine. I am overjoyed to see it growing and excited to share my new adventures with you over the next few months. So be on the lookout for that!

I'm also excited to announce the latest blog design I just installed for Meghan. She was a doll to work with and I had some much fun bringing her vision to life.

If you don't know, the Blogger Pow Wow was last night and this month's topic was SEO. Christine offered up some great advice, and much to my surprise I was able to help her out with some insight for the Blogger users in our group (Christine is a WordPress blogger). Who knew I was an "expert"? That means you guys will be seeing an "SEO for Blogger blog" post from me in the next week or so. Thank Christine for that.

And finally, my new MacBook Pro is fixed and back in my possession. I am so glad that it was able to be repaired! Poor Mable (my old '07 MacBook White) just can't keep up with all the software updates anymore, and is going to be happily retired once I get all my files transferred over. I'm trying to think of a name for the new MacBook. Suggestions?

Grateful is only one of the emotions flooding me right now, but it's definitely a big one. God really does give us exactly what we need.

What are you grateful for today?


P.S. I'm also offering 25% off with the code SNOWDAY25 on the Mahogany and Chestnut ad spots through the month of March! Click HERE to take advantage of this awesome sale!

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Praise for a Grateful Heart

There is victory in the Lord! Yes, my friends, there is. And my wonderful Husband made a very important commitment to God, to me, and to the world yesterday. Yesterday, a long with 3 others, Philip was baptized. You guys, I can't tell how how much joy this has provided, but it brought me to tears. I am so, so grateful for Jesus and His saving grace.

I am also grateful that Bear is doing so much better now after his "surgery" on Friday. #nomoreballs
Poor baby was so pitiful and lethargic until Sunday afternoon, but this morning he's almost back to his normal self.

In other news, I've installed two new Blog designs in the past couple weeks! The latest being Kendra's over at Kenji is Here. (I did Grady's over at Gradybird last week) The more I do them, the more I learn and it's a wonderful thing.

Working with my clients is the best part of the design process. By having open communications with them, I have the privilege to get to know them beyond their blog content and comments. It's magical to bring their personalities to life with colors, fonts, and images. And their sweet words of praise just melt my heart and reassure me that my decision to start doing designs was a good one.

What are you grateful for this week?

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A Grateful Heart Full of Praise

Happy Monday! Classes start tomorrow and I am so ready. I definitely will have to stop for coffee though as my first class is at 8:30 A.M. and that's when I've been getting up lately. #dontjudgeme

A few things happened over the weekend. First, I finished and installed Kathy's new blog design! I love it! It is fresh an has a slightly latin feel to it, which is so fitting since her family is from Argentina. I'm so glad she is so pleased with it too! She was a doll to work with and I'm so grateful to have her as a friend.

Second, we tried out a new church on Sunday. I seriously think God wanted me to be there for that sermon too, because boy did I need to hear it. The Pastor talked about making room for God in your life every single day and learning to trust him with things outside of your control. One of the things the Pastor asked us to think about was "What do you think is on God's mind today?" We all have so much to think about ourselves, but I can't even imagine the number of things on God's mind!

While I know I have a lot on my mind, it does not compare to God's mind, and I am grateful that I do not have to bear that burden each day. Thank you, Lord, for taking all of our worries as your own.

Third, we finalized our vacation dates for our trips to Georgia this year! I am so, so, so, so, so, grateful that we are able to take two trips this year and I am ready for the first one to come. I miss my mom and my Llama so very much.

What are you grateful for today?

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I Told You So

TA-DA! 

Isn't it pretty?? How 'bout that new name?? I'm just loving my little chickadee too.

As I was contemplating my need to scaled down my blog posts, I also thought really long a hard about re-branding. Peaches in Missouri just didn't fit the content I was producing and it bothered me. As much as I loved that name, I knew it was time to move on. All these BIG changes in my life (i.e. getting married and going back to school) inspired the new name: Knock on Wood.

AND in honor of the newy new newness around here, I'm offering a discount on my large sponsor option! Just use the code NEWKNOCKER to get 50% off.

If you have grabbed one of my buttons for your side bar, please make sure to update it with the new ones.

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Now I'm just going to sit back and enjoy my labor of love. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Throwback Thursday!

What do you think? Do you like it?